


The End of Day's (in the form of a girl)

by Orajje



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 07:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30018159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orajje/pseuds/Orajje
Summary: Homura goes back in time.Something else comes with her.
Relationships: Akemi Homura & Kriemheld Gretchen
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

Gretchen reached out, her power slowly covering everything. She kept going, feeling everyone’s suffering. She had to help them.

She had to save them.

All of them.

She would bring about **Salvation**.

One of the closest felt… familiar. Not to mention the sheer _despair_ she could feel from the girl. So she reached for them, her immense power allowing her to move unnaturally fast, allowing gretchen to grab-

Suddenly everything _hurt_ , as she was _pulled_ , compressed tighter and tighter by magic she didn’t understand. Gretchen had no idea what was going on, but she felt the pressure crushing her existence. Her entirety being funneled down far too small.

She couldn’t die yet though, salvation hadn’t been brought about, there was still suffering. She couldn’t let herself be destroyed, no matter how much suffering she underwent. She would do anything to save others.

Which was why, when she felt something surprisingly absorbent of her compressing power, she immediately forced herself within it. Her form shrinking and condensing, accepting the container at a rapid rate, until it all went black. 

Then she felt something… soft underneath her? She couldn’t sense things though, her normal method of ‘sight’ failing. She could still feel the despair of the world, the despair around her, but other than that her senses were… odd. She tried moving, her new… limbs? Feeling familiar and foreign at the same time. As her eyes opened, she looked upon the world around her, and was a little unnerved when she looked up at the… trees?

Why was she so small?

Why was everything so… odd? So wrong?

She shivered as she looked around, looking around herself at what she was pretty sure was a park.

She sat up, then looked down at her hands. Hands that weren’t the massive shadows she had used before.

Human hands.

It felt wrong, and right at the same time. Something about it felt normal, but at the same time it was just…

_Wrong._

But that wouldn’t stop her, she still needed to save everyone. She slowly stood up, figuring out how her new limbs worked, and just as she was about to raise her hands and release her power…

She saw two children, being led by their parents through the park, smiles on their faces, causing her to stop.

Something felt… wrong.

She shivered, something within her was telling her they didn’t need **Salvation**. They were happy.

But if she offered salvation… they would be caught up in it.

She almost considered doing it anyways, but at the same time… she could feel the girl from before. Her despair slowly suppressed. Gretchen remembered them feeling familiar…

If someone felt so familiar, and had so much despair, they might know what she could do.

She moved, walking slowly towards the source. Slightly unfamiliar with having legs, but learning quickly.

She still needed to grant **Salvation** after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Homura was moving into her new apartment, preparing to save Madoka. Then she realized her soul gem was glowing. She immediately reached out with her senses, and shivered when she felt the absolutely _**massive**_ source of magic. It was so dense she only felt it when she specifically reached out in the rough direction her soul gem was glowing, almost missing it due to its small size. The only reason she hadn’t…

Was because it was already at her apartment building.

She felt fear, how had something so powerful gotten so close? What kind of anomaly had appeared this time?

Homura immediately transformed, stopping time and heading outside the barrier over her home as she walked closer to whatever the source was, perpetually keeping it in her senses as she got closer until… Madoka?

It certainly looked like Madoka at first glance, even wearing the school uniform. The problem though, was the tarnished black ring on her finger, slightly glowing dark pink runes instead of the standard black. That was also not mentioning the gold ornamentation around the edges, with pink and white engravings.

She immediately felt out to Madoka’s school, and was relieved to feel Madoka was still alive and safe. But that still left her with the problem of what was going on with… this one. After thinking about it though, there was only one explanation she could think of. Someway, somehow, _Madoka’s witch had come back with her._ She even remembered the witch touching her before she turned back time, which left her with a problem.

_Why was she here?_ Why was she in what was likely… the last Madoka’s body? Why had she not just begun destroying the world again?

Which left her with two options, attempt to kill the witch, possibly having it backfire on her and getting herself killed, or hope that she was here for… something. Anything.

It was hard to say though, she couldn’t read witches minds. But she had also not seen anything like this before, never even heard of something like it.

So she made her choice, quickly heading back into her house, and dropping the stop. Keeping an eye on the witches magic, feeling it get closer and closer to her apartment. Becoming more nervous with every inch, till by the time she heard the knock at the door she practically jumped.

She walked over to the door, opening it to the witch with Madoka’s face. Who immediately began talking. “So you are the girl who felt familiar… could you help me with somethin?” 

Homura blinked, she had no idea what she had been expecting, but this was definitely looking to be the best case scenario. The witch didn’t even appear hostile, just giving her a smile as she thought about her response. “... What do you want help with?” she asked, cautiously preparing to time stop away if it went wrong.

The girl smiled a bit wider. “Could you help me figure out how to bring about Salvation?”

… What?


	3. Chapter 3

Gretchen watched the girl, even as she stared back, a confused look on her face.

She just waited, even if she almost shivered from holding herself back. The girl's emotions. The girls despair…

She held herself back though. She needed… someone to talk to. Thinking was odd now. She needed someone to help her understand, and figure out what she was doing. Her power was still capable of doing  _ that. _ But some immutable part of… her? Or was it this body? Didn’t really matter, something was almost… holding her back?

If felt wrong though.

Both parts felt wrong, getting rid of the feeling, and releasing her power to offer everyone salvation.

“... What do you mean exactly?” the girl finally responded.

“Well… I want everyone to be happy… forever and ever. But when I got here… It felt wrong! Since you felt familiar, and have so much of your own despair… I want you to help me figure out what to do!”

The girl narrowed her eyes, but after a few more moments she stepped aside to invite her in.

She walked in, her steps awkward still, but good enough for this. Being steered to a seat. She felt the soft cushion underneath her as she sat down. It was odd, but she stayed still. Trying to stay patient.

It was hard though. She just wanted to reach out and help. Give the girl her version of salvation. 

The girl sat down across from her, looking at her. 

“What is your name?” The girl asked.

Gretchen winced. “I… I think I had a name… but the only other name I have… I can’t tell you. You can call me the witch of salvation though.”

The girl narrowed her eyes further. “... The Witch of salvation is a mouthful, so if it’s alright with you I’ll call you Salv.” Gretchen nodded, the nickname was acceptable. “So I suppose it’s my turn, I am Homura Akemi.” Her eyes widened a little. Her name was… just given like that. She held herself back from her need to  _ protect _ . Wondering whether the **Homura** knew the implication. She doubted it, but it was possible.

"Do you… know what you just gave me?" She tried to hold herself back from yelling that the girl was a nitwit to offer her name. Even if it was to her.

"I… offered you my name?"

Gretchen held herself back from screaming at the stupidity, breathing in and out for a moment before she replied. "... Names have power Homura. Please try not to tell your name to anyone else who could exploit it."

Considering the worried look on the girls face, she understood now. If too late to take it back. Thankfully, she didn't ask for hers. She couldn’t give it.

She _couldn’t_.

**Homura** coughed after a moment, face becoming the steel mask from before,, but began talking. "Thank you for the warning Salv. I'll do my best to keep it in mind. Which leads us back to the original point, you want to save people?"

Gretchen nodded. "It is my purpose. I **will** save **everyone**. It feels… slightly wrong though now. I saw some people and it felt… _wrong_ just thinking about releasing my power and covering everything to give them salvation. Even though my dream should be far happier."

"Can you make more people in your dream?”

“Of course I can make other people for them to interact with in the dream, it's just a dream after all!-”

“No, I’m not asking whether the dreams are nice, or realistic. I’m asking whether, once you’re done with that first batch, will you have anyone new to salvation too, or will you just be alone forever, unable to fulfill your purpose as there is nobody left to make happy?”   
  
Gretchen froze. Homura wasn’t wrong. If her plan went into effect she would erase all despair, but there would be nobody left to be happy after. She would erase all emotions. Everything would be reduced to nothing within a century at best. “I…”

**Homura** watched her with an unreadable expression as she breathed in and out and thought. _What should she do then? Should she continue, or figure out something new? Should she just focus on the people most affected by despair?_ She almost reached out, but… “I… suppose I could help you figure out how to go about bringing about as much happiness as possible. I even have some short term ways to help people through helping me.”

She blinked.

**Homura** was offering to help her. She didn’t fully trust that the girl didn’t have her own reasons for it, but at the same time… thinking was so odd and slightly wrong. It would be nice to just accept the help. Especially if the girl could help her bring about **Salvation**.

She held out her hand, and **Homura** took it.


End file.
